Flyler

When copying the plans, they accidentally put the tail on backwards, thereby cancelling out the fact that the plans accidentally had the tail on backwards. The rest is history...

Guys I believe this falls under the jurisdiction of the US Coast guard, the FAA deals with air- not submersible craft.

That happened to me, not too long after touch down. The mechanism that moves the gear up and down is designed to do so while the airplane is in the air. It can handle the weight of the gear and the air drag, but not the weight of the plane. Once the gear is down and "locked" it is the over center linkage at each individual wheel that handles the weight of the plane. If one of those wheels isn't "locked", now you have a problem. Depending on the circumstances it can cause the other two to unlock. If the plane is sitting still or moving slowly, it's unlikely that the linkage can collapse both mains as it would have to lift the weight of the plane up first to do so. I forgot to note - gear collapsed tend to happen near your birthday. Don't fly your Mooney on or around your birthday.

Thanks everyone! Multiple posts here and a few DM's too. This forum is so great.

I got all excited about a Canadian 201 that didn't pan out. N201Q was available so I paid the $10 or $15 to reserve it. Anyone want it? Might fit well on your 201, or it would be a great upgrade for a pre-J model to get some extra speed

Potentially looking at a Mooney out in San Martin, CA. I'm on the East Coast so its a haul for me. Can anyone recommend a Mooney pro that could do a prebuy inspection out in that neck of the woods? Takair recommended LASAR and Top Gun. LASAR said yes but I forgot they had moved to Oregon, which is far away. Top Gun seems to be very booked. Perhaps someone who could travel to the current hangar and give it a few hours of time for a "go or no go" before having it flown to an MSC. Appreciate any suggestions or input!

Thanks for posting this, I'm going to go cry myself to sleep now.

Thank you, your example solved the riddle for me. I got hung up on the trailing numbers being static in the search. Now it makes a lot more sense.

I'm guessing one of you fine gentlemen has run into this before. https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberAvailabilityInquiry?error=Starting Range and Ending Range fields must not be empty. FAA has a website where you can look up tail number availability. I can't seem to figure out what to enter into the fields. It gives me an error every time. For example, how would I find tail numbers that include "201" like all thoes original numbers that Mooney registered back in the day?

It is beautiful, but I don't think the seller would be willing to make a $120,000 concession

This one is actually on my list already! Thank you sir.

I flew in an M20E with auto lean. Really slick system.

Hello folks, Doing my due diligence while looking for a new Mooney. I'm interested in one that was cared for by Leggat Aviation in Ontario Canada for many years. Has anyone had any experiences, good or bad, with this outfit? I would be interested to hear about it.

I'm sending out some feelers wherever I can! I am back in the market and hoping to be in the air by the spring/summer. I'm located in CT, USA and this is what I am looking for: M20E, F, or magically a J model. Insurance is going to limit me to under $100k, and closer to $80k would be a lot better. Wants: Something that has been flying and not sitting, engine under 1500hr. Paint that'll at least last me another few years. An autopilot with alt hold (like STEC20, Century III, etc.) Mechanically sound Must be open to having a prebuy done I am an absolute sucker for 201 windscreens and fancy cowls.... I would rather have a plane in great mechanical condition that could use a little interior and avionics loving than the reverse. Please feel free to post or DM if you are thinking of selling or have any hot leads!

This is beautiful.

Any chance you could re-upload the pictures at better resolution?

I have a pair of A30's and while they are really nice, I think I would like them more if they had stronger passive noise blocking. I'm a bit suprised how heavily they rely on the ANR. It works surprisingly well but it just is not the same. I bet your converted headset was excellent.

I brought a big, beautiful, extra thick, grass-fed steak from a local farm.

3D print a little cubby

Looks good to me, much more modern. Maybe you can update us with a picture of the plane outside the hangar at some point- I bet that is where it will look best.

I think it is beautiful and am a Mooney man through-and-through. I just love keeping the idea in my head that they keep puting the tails on backwards by accident...

Looking great!

I just find it absolutely astonishing after all the different models, and experiences, lessons learned, etc., that on the M22 they still accidentally put the tail on backwards!

I had a gear collapse on landing in September 2024. Prop strike, exhaust squished, lower cowling scratched up, cowl flaps, nose gear doors, nose retract rods, belly damage, right wing skin damage, right retract rod in belly bent, right flap hinge, probably the flap too, wing tip fairing. Landed softly and gear unlocked at about 55mph. Slid down asphalt and then did a little twist off into the grass, I believe due to the difference in drag of the fixed step/wing on the right side, and left main gear remaining down and rolling. Not sure if it matters regarding damaged components, but Dukes electric actuator was fully down and sitting on the limit switch. No visual damage to the gear motor, but not sure. Quote was for about $90k with IRAN only, probably optimistic at that. Of course the engine IRAN and prop is a huge chunk of the cost. There's a lot of labor in reskinning the wing too. I think a "clean" gear up where the wings don't hit is probably repairable. Collateral damage from gear collapse or partial collapse can push it over the line. I'm thinking if just the nosewheel collapses its probably not an insurance total. It's just really sad as if you look at the plane, its all pretty minor looking damage with a huge pricetag.